The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
by Sula 74
Summary: Time travel. Sakura gets sent back to Konoha prior to the third shinobi war. SakuxSaku pairing. I'm not sure where this is going, but I'm open to suggestions.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

I've had the first 2-3 chapters bouncing around in my head for a while now, especially the second chapter. I figured I'd write it down and see if it goes anywhere. This is my first time travel fiction and it seems like there should be more planning involved. So I have a beginning, and I think I have an end, but no idea what will happen in the middle. I'm open to suggestions. Also open to constructive criticism. I let Kakashi keep his Sharingon and took some liberties with what it can do.

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Kakashi struggled to pull himself up, flailing with limbs which didn't want to work, instinctively keeping low, using the bushes he had landed in for cover. He was near his endpoint. He had one, maybe two, good jutsu left in him and then...well, he'd better make those jutsu count. He had lost track of his team in the explosion. Were they dead? Was he the last one? Again? He swore to always protect his comrades, and once again he'd failed. He shook his head, hands clutching his hair as he tried to get himself together. Deep breaths. Breaths which somehow made his head swim even more. He squinted out into the battlefield, willing his vision to clear. Trees swam in and out of focus, one second a green and brown blur, the next coming into sharp focus, only to fade back.

He saw a sandaled foot sticking out from the bushes about one hundred feet to his left, the rest of the body obscured. Sandals, not boots. Not Sakura. Who then? Alive or dead? He couldn't tell from here, his vision again betraying him. He grabbed the base of the bush in one hand, pushing off the ground with the other to get his feet under him, but the effort was too much. The rushing noise in his ears crescendoed into an all-consuming roar as the world spun and then went black.

He couldn't have been out long. He heard a rumble, felt vibrations in the ground. Not an explosion. An earth jutsu. Or maybe a certain kunoichi capable of cracking boulders and opening crevices in the ground with her bare fists. Maybe. Whatever it was, at least one of his team was still alive. Still fighting. Kakashi closed his eyes and listened. The forest was quiet, all the wildlife having fled or hidden in their burrows at the first signs of battle. A breeze rustled through the surrounding trees. Then something else. The sounds of someone running. They were going all out, snapping tree branches and sending loose rocks flying, valuing speed and distance over stealth. He heard the runner pause at the edge of the blast zone, then divert their way around it, staying in the trees. Suddenly, Sakura dropped to the ground behind their fallen comrade, dragging him further under cover. Kakashi could see her doing a quick assessment of injuries, watching for enemies as she did so, and then start a healing jutsu. Alive then. But for how long? Kakashi could feel the chakra of the jutsu, which meant the enemy could, too. And they were sure to be close behind on Sakura's trail. That she was trying to heal him now and not carry him away to safety meant the injuries were critical, maybe mortal.

Kakashi felt Sakura's chakra flare, faintly heard her talking to the body she was working on before sinking back on her heels, the green glow fading from her hands. She slouched dejectedly for a moment before going through her dead companion's pockets, not wanting to leave anything on him that could be used by their enemies. She then reached up and gently slipped the head band off his head, wrapping the cloth around the metal Konoha insignia before gently placing it in her bag. She ran a hand quickly over her eyes and started to stand. Before she was fully on her feet, two shinobi dropped from the trees on either side of her. Two more stepped from the bushes behind her, cutting off her escape. Just then the three who had been pursuing her showed themselves, leaving her surrounded. Seven against one. The shinobi were all chunin level or above, the newcomers fresh and strong, while Sakura was exhausted and had to be running low on chakra. Kakashi's heart raced, his mind trying to keep up with it. This was it. They were going to kill her. Kill her, or take her hostage. His teammate. His student. The one he was supposed to protect. He had to save her. Had to keep her away from them. He couldn't watch another teammate die. He wouldn't.

He cursed silently. The targets were too close to Sakura to take out with a large-scale jutsu. He'd end up killing her along with them. There were too many for him to take on, even with her help. He could take out one, maybe two, before he'd be dead from chakra drain, but maybe that could give her a chance to escape. But he knew her. He knew that once she realized he was there, she wouldn't run. She would stay and fight. She wouldn't leave her comrade behind. Not even him.

He watched as they started to close in on her. She had a kunai drawn and was preparing to fight. She would take a few of them out with her, but ultimately the fight could only go one way.

He had to get her out of here. Had to give her a chance to escape. To get some place safe. Two had their backs to him, and all were focused on Sakura. He drew two kunai silently from his pouch, throwing one, then the other, hearing them land squarely in the backs of his enemies. He started gathering the last remnants of his chakra as chaos broke out in front of him. His head swam and his eyes watered as he prepared his kamui, feeling his grip on consciousness slipping even as he felt the chakra building in his system. He had to choose a target. Choose one to take out of her way. Out of here. Get them out of here. His eye focused on Sakura, locked in a taijutsu battle with two of them. He had to save her. Had to get her out of here. Had to get her somewhere safe. Back to Konoha. He had to get her there. He had to send her someplace safe. He opened his eye wide and released the power of the Mangyeko Sharingon on his teammate.

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Sakura pushed more of her chakra into her comrade's body even as she felt his heartbeat flutter and grow erratic. She had plugged up all the internal injuries that were causing him to bleed out, but she couldn't make the red blood cells regenerate fast enough. It was over, at least for him, and there were still at least two rogue ninja on her tail. She collected the personal effects of the fallen ninja, wiped the sweat and tears out of her eyes, and stood up. Kakashi had to be around here somewhere. He had been caught in the blast with Kaede, she was sure of it. She had covered half of the perimeter of the blast zone when she found Kaede, Kakashi should be somewhere in the other half. She could do it, she could find him before the missing nin did. Just as she was about to take to the tree tops again, two missing nin dropped to the ground on either side of her. She cursed, drawing a kunai and gathering her chakra in her foot, preparing to cause a little earthquake to knock them off their feet, when she felt two more chakra signatures behind her. She was surrounded, and she had no idea what the capabilities of the newcomers were. They had to be strong to even think of taking on her on. She slowly turned in a circle, kunai ready, eying up each of her new foes. As she turned, she was a movement in the bushes, followed by the dull thud of a kunai burying into flesh. Then another. Kakashi. She barely had time to smile in relief as she used the momentary confusion to throw her own kunai, hitting her closest assailant in the thigh. The fight was on, two on her while two went to search for their hidden assailant. She saw the ninja she had hit with the kunai on the ground making hand signs, looking in the direction Kakashi was hidden. She jumped in his direction, kicking out as she landed, missing his head but managing to kick him in the arm, stopping the jutsu and sending him flying. She turned to face her original two opponents when she felt a sudden lurch in her stomach, like her insides were trying to fold in on themselves. The world blurred and seemed to rotate, and she felt a tremendous pull in her abdomen, a twisting sensation of drawing in. She tried to move out of the pull but it was too late. She new what was happening. She was caught in Kakashi's Kamui. There was no escape.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** So, another chapter. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a Sakura/Sakumo romance, and only partly because the pairing will be called Sakusaku. I'm still not sure what will happen here. I have the first few chapters and then the final scene in my head. I've got lots of internal conflict planned out, but it seems like there should be some external conflict, too. I'm open to suggestions, recommendations, and criticism, so long as it's constructive.

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Sakura landed hard on her back, panting hard and fighting back nausea. She heard a high-pitched scream nearby, somewhere off to her right. She rolled onto her stomach and drew herself up into a crouch, looking right into the eyes of a little boy sitting against a tree. A little boy who was now standing up and yelling for his dad. This wasn't the Kamui dimension. Kakashi must have realized he had trapped her in it and stopped the jutsu. Or their enemies had stopped him from completing it. So where was she?

She stood on shaky feet, wobbling a moment before trying to put on a reassuring smile for the little boy. She had to get him to stop yelling before he gave away their position. She was just about to open her mouth to say something reassuring to him when the ground beneath her erupted, knocking her off-balance right before five large dogs sank their teeth into her, pinning her against the nearest tree. She felt their teeth sinking into the flesh of her arms and legs, one small dog hanging off of her hand, effectively preventing her from making hand signs. She tried to shake it off but that only made the small dog hold on tighter, growling as it tightened it's jaws around delicate bones. What was going on? This was Kakashi's jutsu, but these weren't Kakashi's dogs. At least, not his regular pack. She didn't know these dogs. None looked familiar to her.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stay still, not reacting even when the little one hanging on her hand adjusted his teeth for a better grip. She didn't want to fight these dogs and take the chance of hurting one, plus, she'd probably lose anyway. The little boy was closer now, yelling something that she couldn't make out over the growling in her ears. Close enough to possibly get hurt if she did manage to break the pack's grip and tried to fight these dogs off. Maybe she could reason with them.

"Hey guys, I think there's been a mistake. It's me. It's Sakura. I'm am friend of Kakashi's."

At the sound of Kakashi's name the pack reacted, its collective jaws tightening, the small one twisting in the air as it worried her hand with renewed vigor. Not what she had hoped for.

Just then saw movement in the forest, a familiar gray-haired figure running toward her at top speed. Thank god! She was so relieved she didn't even question why Tsunade was with him, blonde hair streaming behind her as they both ran toward her.

"Kakashi-se-" the words were cut off by the pressure of a fist at her throat. Kakashi glared at her, a cold, calculating look she had only seen him give to enemies in battle, right before he killed them. But something was different. His mask was down. Not down, gone. And he was staring at her with two gray eyes. No Sharingan.

"Kakashi-" she started again, hating how small her voice sounded, how uncertain.

"What do want with Kakashi?" He asked, increasing the pressure on her throat as the dog holding her right arm growled and tightened it's grip.

"Wha? No, Nothing! I, uh, I.." Sakura stammered, her mind searching desperately for the right thing to say in this situation where everything was wrong. Kakashi and Tsunade fighting against her. Was it a genjutsu? It had to be. The missing nin must have stopped Kakashi's Kamui and then placed her under a genjutsu while she was disoriented. It didn't feel like a genjutsu, but there was no other explanation. She bit her lip, hard, hoping to dispel it with pain. Nothing happened. Maybe because this was a rather painful genjutsu already. The caster must be very powerful. Even Kurenai-sensei couldn't maintain a painful genjutsu for long. Sakura took a deep, calming breath and started drawing her chakra in. She was about to let it surge forth, trying to raise her hand and shout "kai" at the same time when she was punched in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"Don't try that again."

Sakura looked up into the cold, dead eyes of this new, strange Kakashi. Vaguely she was aware of the crying of the little boy in the distance, but most of her senses were tuned to the man in front of her. The man who looked like Kakashi, but couldn't be. There were differences. She had seen Kakashi without his mask, and this wasn't him. The face was a little fuller, the jaw a bit more square. The eyes were wrong. The hair was wrong. The uniform was wrong. This wasn't Kakashi, but who was it? A clone? A Henge? What about Tsunade? Sakura cast a quick glance over at her mentor, who had grabbed the little boy and was now holding him protectively in her arms while glaring at Sakura. Her clothes were different too. She was too far away to see her other features clearly, except for her chest. That looked about the same. When she flicked her eyes back to the imposter Kakashi before her, she saw one of his eyebrows arch up.

"There's nothing over there for you. Your mission is over. Failed. Keep your eyes on me. I'm all you have to worry about now."

"Mission?" Sakura asked, surprised into speaking. "What mission? What do you think I'm doing here?"

Just then another person dropped from the trees. It looked like...but it couldn't be. It couldn't be Jiraiya.

"How about you let me ask the questions, hmm?"

Same booming voice. Same long white hair hanging down his back. Same mole. The red lines at the corner of his eyes were shorter. And he looked...younger. A lot younger. Almost as young as Tsunade.

Jiraiya approached Kakashi and clapped him on the shoulder. Sakura felt the fingers around her neck tighten reflexively at the sudden contact.

"All's clear. No signs of anyone else. Orochimaru's got his snakes searching the forest but I don't think they'll find anything. Looks like she's working alone."

Orochimaru? Sakura froze, scanning the forest before her as best she could with an angry fist at her throat. She caught a movement to her left and then there he was.. In front of her. Orochimaru. Pale. So Pale. Long, dark hair. Reptilian eyes.

"I see my reputation precedes me." Orochimaru smirked, coming around into her full view.

Sakura tore her eyes away from Orochimaru, but it was difficult. Almost as difficult as it was to return her gaze to the imposter Kakashi standing before her. The one who's fingers kept their tight grip on her neck.

Jiraiya stepped forward and assessed their prisoner. And then kept on assessing her. Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes. Pervert.

"Well, Sakumo, looks like we've caught a fiesty one!" Jiraiya laughed, clapping the man on the back again.

Sakumo? Who was he talking about? Sakura looked, but there was no one else in sight. Sakumo? She knew that name. Everyone knew about Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, father of Hatake Kakashi. Everyone also knew that Sakumo was dead. As dead as Jiraiya. And if that was Sakumo, then was the little boy...

Sakura closed her eyes, wanting to shut out the world for just a minute. She was so confused. She needed to think, to process. Something was going on here and she would figure it out, if she could just get a minute to gather her thoughts without a Kakashi impersonator waiting to tear her apart with his strange dogs.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakumo/Kakashi/clone/henge/figment-of-a-genjutsu-addled-mind gave a soft order to the dogs to release her while grabbing her wrist and spinning her, pinning her face-first to the tree, one hand twisted tightly against her back. Sakura's hatai-ate was unceremoniously pulled off of her head and then dangled next to her face.

"Where did you get this?"

'The same place you did, at my graduation from the Konoha Ninja Academy!" Sakura snapped, incensed that anyone should think her an enemy of Konoha.

Sakumo leaned in closer to her, pressing her into the tree, adding a little more pressure against the arm bent behind her. "Your story isn't going to hold up, and you know it, so why don't you just tell us the truth now and save T&I the trouble of formally interrogating you?" he asked softly, his reasonable tone almost disguising the ominous meaning of his words.

All of the fight went out of her, and she rested her head against the tree as she realized this was really happening. Somehow, this was happening. It wasn't a genjutsu, it wasn't a clever and complex trap laid by any enemy to trick her . She was the enemy. She was an unknown ninja surrounded by strangers in a village where no one would recognize her. The village she had sacrificed so much for, had risked her life for, wouldn't even know her name. Torture and Interrogation loomed in her future, but that thought was pushed to the back of her mind by an sudden, oppressive feeling of loneliness. She had no one. No one to reach out to, no one to help her, no one to even acknowledge her as a Konoha shinobi or a friend. She felt the pain of it in her chest, like a weight on her heart that was growing with each breath, pressing against her lungs, making it harder to breathe. Her throat felt tight, achingly tight, as if Sakumo's hand was still around her neck and squeezing, squeezing harder until she was choking and gasping for breath.

"Crying isn't going to help you, and neither is a panic attack."

Sakura opened her eyes and glared at what she could see of Hatake Sakumo in her peripheral vision. He still had a firm grip on the arm twisted behind her back, but he had backed off of her a bit, giving her room to breathe, standing slightly to the side to watch her face dispassionately as she struggled to get control of herself. It was that distant, clinical look that snapped Sakura back to her senses. She belonged to the Leaf Village, and no other Leaf shinobi had any right to look at her that way! These were her comrades, and she would make them see that. Somehow.

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A/N: I write sooooo slooowlyyyyy. Sorry for the mini mini update, but I figured I'd throw it up here because, well, it's all i have right now. Don't worry, this will NOT be a wimpy Sakura story, she's just having a tough time in these few paragraphs.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: A bigger update to make up for the last itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie one. Thank you for all of the reviews! MegamiTsunami, thanks for pointing those things out! I was planning to cover them all in the next chapter or so, I just write slowly and haven't gotten to it yet! But thanks for watching out for me and I'll appreciate it if you or anyone else catches me in a slip up or has any suggestions to improve the story.

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Sakura went willingly when she was brought to one of the larger trees and tied to it, the rope wrapped tight around her, binding her arms and upper body the trunk. She watched complacently as her medic apron and weapon pouches were taken away and tossed to Jiraiya and Orochimaru. She calmly stated her name, rank, and ninja registration number when asked for them, not reacting when Sakumo scoffed at her, telling her that her village did a poor job of preparing her to pass for a Konoha nin since registration numbers didn't go that high. She was about to tell him that they didn't go that high _yet _when Jiraiya called out Sakumo's name, his voice grim. In his hands he held the hitai-ate she had taken from Kaede and stashed in her apron, intending to return it to his family.

Sakumo didn't move from his spot in front of Sakura, sparing Jiraiya a brief glance and then returning his attention to her, his gaze hard and accusing.

"It belonged to my teammate. We were ambushed. I...I tried to save him, but his injuries were too severe. I wanted to give that to his next of kin."

Sakumo stared at her a moment longer, then called one of his dogs over. He held Sakura's hitai-ate out to the dog, who sniffed it carefully and thoroughly before gingerly taking it between his teeth and carrying it over to Jiraiya to collect the other one.. The two hitai-ate hanging from its mouth, the dog trotted back over to its pack mates.

Jiraiya tossed Sakura's remaining possessions aside and stepped up to stand next to Sakumo. "Why don't I continue the interrogation and you go take care of Kakashi-kun?"

Sakumo didn't move for a minute, then took a deep breath, seemingly trying to relax his body before nodding at Jiraiya and turning to walk toward Tsunade and Kakashi. Kakashi was still in Tsunade's arms, head leaning against her shoulder. Sakura wasn't sure from this distance, but she thought he might be sucking his thumb. When he saw Sakumo approaching, arms out as though to take him from Tsunade, Kakashi threw his arms around her neck and buried his face in her chest, shaking his head and kicking his feet, obviously not wanting to go to him. Sakura turned her eyes away from the sight of her future sensei motorboating her future Hokage and saw Jiraiya heave a sigh and start toward them, telling Orochimaru to keep an eye on the prisoner. Left alone with Orochimaru, Sakura decided it was best not to make eye contact, so she watched as Jiraiya approached the group, calling out Kakashi's name in his big, jocular voice and waving his hands. Kakashi peeked out from the safety of Tsunade's bosom, staring but not objecting as the big man lifted him into his arms. Jiraiya said something to Sakumo, pointing with his chin in the direction of Sakura's tree, and carried Kakashi off to the side, sitting on a fallen log with the little boy still clinging to him tightly.

If possible, Sakumo looked to be in an even worse mood when he made his way back to Sakura. He and Orochimaru conferred quietly before Orochimaru took off into the trees, leaving her alone with Sakumo, who stepped in to loom over her.

"ANBU are on their way, they'll take custody of you and bring you to Torture and Interrogation after we've finished out field interrogation."

Sakura met his gaze, keeping the eye contact for a few seconds before giving a sharp nod. She was a loyal citizen of Konoha. She had nothing to be apprehensive about. She would have faith in her village and her fellow Leaf shinobi.

"I'll tell you everything I can, answer any question I'm able to." Sakura stated firmly.

"Anything you can?" Sakumo repeated, one eyebrow rising a little.

Sakura nodded in eager affirmation. "Yes, of course, anything."

"And what kinds of things 'can't' you tell me? Things like which village you're from and what your mission here is?"

"No! No no no! That's not what I meant! I meant I want to give you my full cooperation! There are just some things I won't be able to answer. I have questions too! I have no idea how I got here, or when, or how I'll get back!"

"Get back to where?" Sakumo interjected quickly.

"Back...to my team, I guess. We were on a mission. Near the Suna border. We were on our way back when we were ambushed by a large group of missing-nin. I not sure what happened after that. How I ended up back in Konoha."

"Or when?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him, confused. Had she given something away? Had he figured out what she suspected?

"You said you had no idea when you got here. Were you in Konoha previous to your attempted attack on my son?"

"What?! No! I didn't try to attack Kakashi! I would never! He's...he's just a child." Sakura's voice trailed off. She still thought of Kakashi as her sensei, and she had almost said so. She wanted to cooperate, she just wasn't sure what she should say.

She drew a determined breath and met Sakumo's eyes. "Leaf shinobi don't kill their comrades. Or their comrade's children."

"And you're a Leaf shinobi, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Right."

"OK then, Konoha jounin Haruno Sakura, why don't you tell me you parent's names and we'll go get them and clear this up?" Sakumo held his notepad and pencil as if ready to take some notes.

Sakura took a deep breath. She would have to tell him. She had no choice. "their names are Kizashi and Mebuki."

"And their address?"

"I...I don't know."

"You don't know? Or your mission planner didn't provide you with enough background story? Or are you making this up as you go along?"

"No, I just...don't remember."

"Amnesia?"

"I...I" Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, frustrated and not sure what to say. How far back into the past did she go? How old were her parents? Had they met yet? She cast a glance at Jiraiya, who looked so young. And at Kakashi, who looked _really _young. How old was he now? Four? Five? She was never good at guessing ages. How old was he really? Thirty-something. She couldn't remember exactly. She could extrapolate her parents ages based on a rough estimate of Kakashi's...

"You what?" Sakumo demanded.

Sakura wavered a bit, still caught in her indecision, She took a fortifying breath and looked determinedly at Sakumo. "If you can tell me what year this is, I might be able to tell you where to find my parents."

Sakumo's eyebrows rose slightly, then quickly lowered to form a stern line over his eyes. "So it's going to be the amnesia route, is it? You're not making this any easier on yourself."

"No, it's not that." Sakura said earnestly. "It's just - " She hesitated, not sure how best to say it. She still wasn't completely sure she should say it, but she was out of options. She drew a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady. "The last time I saw little Kakashi-kun over there, he was a man in his thirties, a jounin, and a team captain. So you can see why I'm a little confused about what year this is."

Now Sakumo's brows really drew down. Sakura found herself distantly thinking that, aside from the hair, Kakashi most resembled his father around the eyes, but maybe that was just because it was the only part of his face she saw with any regularity. But he definitely had his father's eyes, dark gray and very expressive. She had gotten quite good at reading Kakashi's emotions through that single exposed eye over the past years, and now with an entire face to look at, it was easy to see the fleeting emotions passing over Sakumo's countenance now, even though the seasoned shinobi was by no means demonstrative. Still, she could see the shock and mild confusion as he glanced back at Kakashi then quickly back at Sakura, followed by disbelief, which hardened back into the stern professionalism of an interrogating officer under duress. But underneath it all (underneath the underneath) she thought she caught a flicker of happiness, maybe even joy.

Sakumo, regaining his composition quickly, gave her a hard look. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure how it happened, but I think...I think I got sent back through time." That sounded better than _I've come from the future_ right? Less like something out of a late-night B-movie? More believable? Not that shinobi had any reason to doubt something _could _happen. They lived in a world where people summoned talking animals from other planes, where demons were split up into new demons and then sealed within living hosts, and where battles could take place in other dimensions . Why not time travel?


End file.
